About the ADA Transition Plan

An ADA Transition Plan is a roadmap to guide a public agency to fully meet the Americans with Disabilities Accessibility Guidelines. The purpose is to transition a public agency into full compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Accessibility Guidelines.

Our ADA Transition Plan:

• Details the physical barriers found during facility assessments.
• Incorporates feedback from our public engagement efforts.
• Shares plans to resolve barriers during upcoming projects.
• Describes the grievance process.

Our transition plan is a living document that we will continue to update. We will share progress updates on this webpage.

• 2025 Washington State ADA Transition Plan (PDF)

You can share comments or issues about the transition plan by filling out the Capitol Campus Discrimination form.

Community outreach

When developing our transition plan, we wanted to take time to understand the public's lived experience when on Capitol Campus. 

In summer 2025, we did an online survey and virtual public workshop to hear public comments. View the workshop recording or read the transcript.

We want to continue hearing your feedback! 

You can share your experience with barriers on campus by completing our Improving accessibility on Capitol Campus survey.  we’ll track feedback and incorporate it the next time we update the ADA Transition Plan.

We're tracking feedback to incorporate next time we update our ADA Transition Plan.

Project background

Our ADA study

In 2023, we conducted a Facility Condition Assessment of DES managed buildings on Capitol Campus. This included building conditions, seismic structure, and ADA code compliance.

In 2024, we conducted a Self-Assessment focused on the Capitol Campus grounds. This included accessible parking, routes to public buildings, building entrances, and signage.

What's next

Project and fieldwork were informative, but DES knows that understanding people's lived experience tells a compelling story. In summer 2025, we asked for community feedback to help inform our ADA Transition Plan to resolve barriers and thoughtfully improve accessibility on Capitol Campus.

In fall 2025, DES will draft an ADA Transition Plan and ask for public comments.

More Information

Capitol Campus areas we are reviewing

For the purposes of this study, we are examining physical barriers on Capitol Campus and DES owned and operated grounds. This includes:

• East Capitol Campus: the Natural Resources Building, Plaza Garage, Highway Licenses Building, Capitol Court, State Archives Building, Capitol Childcare Center, Employment Security Building, Transportation Building, and 1500 Jefferson Building.
• West Capitol Campus: the Legislative Building, Sunken Garden, Temple of Justice, Governor's Mansion, Legislative Modular Building, John L. O'Brien Building, John A. Cherberg Building, Insurance Building, Pritchard Building, Helen Sommers Building, and Irving R. Newhouse Building.
• North Capitol Campus buildings and grounds: the Old Capitol Building, Columbia Garage, Washington Street Building, Union Building, Centennial Park, State Farm, and Pro Arts Building.
• Parks near Capitol Campus: Heritage Park and trails, Capitol Lake, Marathon Park, Capitol Gateway Park, and Sylvester Park.

Types of physical barriers

Physical barriers are physical obstacles that limit access for people with disabilities. Some of these barriersinclude:

• Accessible routes — Pedestrian routes should be free from hazards. Hazards include slippery pathways, broken pavement, and lack of proper signage (including faded paint for walkways, appropriate markings for pedestrian routes, etc.).
• Building entrances — Doors and slopes must meet ADA measurement requirements. Some issues at building entrances that may not meet ADA requirements include insufficient accessible hardware, spacing, slope of landings, and signage.
• Ramps — Ramps must meet ADA slope requirements and provide accessible routes from parking stalls to buildings, sidewalks to buildings, and throughout public buildings.
• Parking stalls — Parking stalls must meet signage, width, access aisles, and slope requirements. Van accessible stalls must also meet height requirements.
• Signage — Signage must be clear and meet height requirements. Signs should lead visitors to accessible entrances on campus and mark accessible parking stalls.